Jackson Jambalaya

I can't wait for GOVERNOR White!

Shadrick - Don't you have some more minnows to catch before you announce for governor?

I am only making an assumption here, but I saw a woman shopping at Whole Foods recently that didn't quite fit the typical Whole Foods mold. I assumed she was using SNAP, and if she was, I am ALL for it and hope she's trying her best to provide quality healthy food for her family to improve their lives. The junk food should have been a no go from the start.

Heaven forbid a person on SNAP wants a frozen pie, chips, soda, or snickers.

Why should I pay for someone's birthday cake from the store bakery?

Well said!

I totally support the elimination of junk food, including all soft drinks, from SNAP and other welfare benefits. I'm an independent, neither a D nor a R, and don't see this as a partisan issue. It's just common sense.

About 1970 I sacked groceries at a store where the main currency was food stamps. I sacked a lot of things that my Mom wouldn't buy as it wasn't good for us or in our family budget.

All the normal food at Whole Foods actually tastes better. I do not know anything about the gluten free vegan stuff. I just mean the normal food for people who aren’t mentally ill and genetically deficient.

I was discussing this topic yesterday. In my day when commodities ( food for needy)was given it was only meal, sugar, flour, can meats, cheese, powder milk, and powder eggs enough to survive until you have the means to support your own family! The Government gives and the Government can limit what they GIVE you!
Stop this madness and support your own families! We were po wishing we were poor! We were blessed to have a mother and grandparents that held us to a standard to do better than the little opportunities than they had. We all did really well in life. And I do thank the LIMITED Government programs that provided us the necessary tools to be successful!
PS
The tax payers cannot feed and shelter anyone/families for generations! It really feels good to support yourself and family without the Government oversight!

Is this part of the state auditor's job description, or is it political pandering?

I'm not a fan of the auditor continually getting out of his lane. But I am also not a fan of 30 years of republican leadership not already doing this. Common sense says that we should not be subsidizing unhealthy diets when we will have to turn around and pay the medical bills also.

You aren’t paying for anything KF. You live in a welfare state. Some Tech Bro in Silicon Valley or a Finance Bro in NYC is paying for it. You, and every other redneck in this state are living off your betters.

Then buy it your damn self.

Anyone on SNAP is free to buy all the Twinkies, Cokes, deli meals, and Doritos they want...with their own money. If they want a cake, they can buy flour, sugar, milk, and eggs. SNAP should be relegated to sustenance, not treats. Sorry not sorry. If I'm given a corporate credit card, I am limited as to what I can use it for. I go out to eat, I need a separate itemized receipt for liquor, right? Because the company isn't obligated to pay for that. Why should SNAP be different? Buy fruit. Buy lunch meat and bread. Buy apple juice.

It's really hard to eat healthy food when your only "grocery store" is dollar general that doesn't stock anything non-processed. We also have to fix the food supply chain

Should be pretty easy to implement. Sure is easy to steal the benes and spend them in Pa.

This is real funny. Look at you idiots! Y’all are getting all ina. HUFF and hating on poors. Do you not realize that SNAP/EBT is a form of corporate welfare? Not people welfare! Yep, and the USDA funds the program and decides what can be bought with it based on what they are told by BIG AGRICULTURE!

That’s right. The reason you can buy HFCS infused sweets with EBT is because that’s the way ConAgra and Monsanto wants it!

So while you peon, plebs, and piss ants fight over who is stealing your tax dollars, the real thieves have worked out a system where the Federal Reserve borrows money, hands it to them, and you and the next 10 generations of your progeny, will pay back the debt!

10:48 AM...Must be another leech that does not understand how these taxes work.

Is not that what politicians do? Pandering?

This change will be good for "the sugars" population, but they sure won't like it.

Anyone crying about this is definitely on SNAP. This is buying your wants instead of your needs and expecting others to fill in. Only healthy foods should be allowed with the benefits. They should also have to pass a drug test every month. I don't mind paying for that.

There's a reason why we don't feed the animals in a park. They become lazy and rely on the kindness of others. Then proceed to become dependent on others. Inch becomes a mile and here we are having this conversation...

I agree people can bake their own birthday cakes! No junk food!

But, but, if I can't buy junk food I won't be able to maintain my 300+ pounds and get diabetes.

Not so fast Shad, all a store has to do is ring that deli food up on a grocery key. That goes for cokes , candy, & chips too.
Walmart and most major grocery stores are just ignoring the mandate. The most common reason is that cash registers have be reprogrammed and that can only be done at a corporate level. It’s sounds good and the map looks good. It’s just not happening like you think.

every time i see prepared food , like sushi, in the markets with the little ''snap eligible'' notice posted i want to throw up.
its bad enough that most is spent on junk food and sodas and the meat is sold on a mini-black market here in town. the sellers then head straight to the drug dealers or the liquor store.

"Food deserts" are a product of unpenalized crime. Its the same reason northeast jackson lost Academy, Ross and Marshall's. And it's about to lose TJ Maxx to Ridgeland.

11:19 has a valid point - how many Coca-Cola and Frito-Lay lobbyists are prowling the halls of Congress trying to shut this down? It is corporate welfare for those companies. The makers of diabetes drugs might also take a bit of a hit but maybe not. Until people have the knowledge and willpower to stop eating and drinking all that garbage, even if it's on their own dime, the diabetes industry will still thrive.

The "Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program" should supplement poor people's grocery cart with nutritious foods. It's asinine to suggest this program should pay for an grocery bill, junk food included.

If people want junk food, they should buy it WITH THEIR OWN MONEY.

i live in a small carribbean country call the dominican republic.
there are no SNAP cards here
yet the diet and health of dominicans is faaaaaaar better than anyone in mississippi with their food stamps , cheetos, twinkies, and fago soda.
for the most part dominicans consume unprocessed fruits , vegetables , meat , fish , dairy and eggs all produced right here in this country.
unlike mississippi , obesity and diabetes are not the national pastimes .
virtually no dominicans ''work out'' at a gym and 90 are slim and healthy regardless of age.
contrast that to the 45% of Mississippians who are obese or MORBIDLY obese.
when you visit a place like this and see it first hand , you will quickly understand the insanity of the entitlement; no one works ;, im a victim; welfare culture in the united states.

i see that west Virginia is on the map banning snap junk food.
if they can do it , so can we.

at least shad is doing something about the rampant fraud in this state. tell us 10:15 , what have you done lately besides shop with your SNAP card?
you better get over to walmart. they are currently running a special on donuts and soda.

i think you and i worked at the same store and lived in the same neighborhood .

Another Maga bandwagon to nowhere. For retailers who depend on SNAP a sale is a sale that keeps the doors open. They will find a way, most of them know their customers well, a sting operation is going to be hard to pull off.

12:38 nailed it. If West Virginia can take this smart step, we can as well. Surely the enemies of Shad can concede that he is right on this point.

@11:19 isn't completely wrong in their summary. The real enemy of the people is indeed the corporations and the lobbyist who do their bidding.

Even ultra-blue Colorado is doing this.

Well if they chose to do that then the store should lose the ability to accept SNAP. Simply. Spoken like a true, pathetic inward.

Shad's blown his opportunity, similar to Fitch....now they want to be Social Workers.

I agree with all the comments so far. Let’s just sign an Executive Order and make this happen. Buy only beans, rice, meal, flour, whole chicken, whole fish, cooking oil and call it a day! No more compromises! It’s the taxpayers money not the recipient! You did not earn this, We are giving this to you with stipulations!

Didn't realize he had been elected as State Nutritionist too???

MS as always following, not leading. Other states have implemented this policy. Back then n the day, basics were supplied monthly. What happened to people growing gardens and sharing with their neighbors? That’s some of the best vegetables going! The in incentive to help yourself and others has been taken away. The corporations see the money in “them there po folks” so more is covered by SNAP.

There's plenty of healthy stuff to buy on Amazon/Whole Foods and it comes with free delivery. There is no such thing as a food desert in 2025.

@12:42 - Sounds like projection on your part honestly. I’d bet you are no less than 350 pounds. Not unlike a certain president with cankles that strongly suggest he doesn’t care about health. Shad can pander with the best of them. It’s clear to everyone except you there’s an alternative agenda there.

Why should my insurance rates go up because Kingfish eats like a pig? I say make it all illegal. Only protein slop and lettuce for everyone!

If I am a recipient of the kindness of the Government, I would say thank you and move on. I am sure politicians get kick backs from big companies supplying the foods you can buy with SNAP. The politicians are quietly waiting for their loyalty checks! With an Executive Order this could be solved without debate. It’s all about lining my pockets before leaving elected office. Do you really think they care about saving money and healthy choices? I can tell you it’s about the Condo on the Coastal Lands.

Why stop with SNAP. That’s just scraping the bottom of the barrel. Make all those junk foods illegal for everyone. All our insurance and healthcare costs would drop dramatically and it’s for our own good!

We could lead by making sugar and highly processed foods illegal. This isn’t a poor people issue in our state, it affects everyone. Hell, just look at our governor or even the president. The cost in pharmaceuticals alone to keep these fatties going is making healthcare unaffordable for everyone. We might even need to have mandatory exercise, at least until our healthcare is sustainable. Now that’s leadership!

I see no reason why a SNAP benefit family shouldn't be held to a weekly menu. Say a family of four gets a coupon book- Remember Those?- and the store has the groceries boxed ahead of time for this family. The order is put in a week ahead of time & everthing they need is in the box & nothing they don't. When relying on someone else to foot the bill you shouldn't complain about what you get!

Dream on. Walmart the number one economic driver in most communities they serve is not losing the ability to accept snap.

@2:17 - you are apparently not price sensitive at all, but how do you think they will be able to afford to buy groceries at Whoole Foods? It’s nicknamed whole Paycheck for a reason.

I’d bet the average weight among commenters on this story is around 270. At least Shad is in a healthy BMI range even if his job has nothing to do with nutrition. The same can’t be said for many other male politicians in the state or nation. Shad mentions Trump in his rant, but he seems to eat like a stoned college dropout and has the body to prove it. It’s just so tiring to hear the right wing take zero responsibility for their own actions and instead blame the poor people or minorities for all the issues. I’m not buying it and can’t believe the entire right wing is so gullible and ignorant.

The wholesale price of vegetables increased 38.9% in July. Before long, we’re all going to be using SNAP. I hope you guys are ready to live what you preach.

The Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Stores Association will be lobbying against any legislation to exclude junk food from eligibility. Regardless of the merits, it will never make it out of committee.